Carton for cigarettes and like articles



Aug. 30, 1932. w. E. MOLINS CARTON FOR CIGARETTES AND LIKE ARTICLES Filed Jan. 20. 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I'll iliilllll'lll lllllllll I'll //V VE/VTOH Aug. 30, 1932. w. E. MOLINS CARTON FOR CIGARETTES AND LIKE ARTICLES Filed Jan. 20, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 M Z M 4 4 V w a w L M m 4 "mm H m v W W L. m 4 Wu uiwuunhmEHHHHMW Patented Aug. 30, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CARTON FOB CIGABETTES AND LIKE ARTICLES Application filed January 20, 1531, Serial No. 510,030, and in. Great Britain February 4, 1880.

This invention is for improvements in or relating to cartons for cigarettes and similarly shaped articles, and has for its object the provision of'a carton which will adequately 6' protect the cigarettes and yet avoid the imperfections which are inherent in the cigarette packings which are at pgesent employed.

With cigarette pac ets at present employed, the mere operation of opening the 10 packet does not present the cigarettes ready for removal from the package, but some further operation has to be erformed, for example, the folding back 0 a flap in the case of a slide and shellpacket to enable the cigarettes to be removed. This is the caseeven where the cigarettes are not enveloped in foil.

The present invention consists of a carton for cigarettes and like articles arranged to accommodate two superimposed rows of ciga- 2 rettes when the package is closed, and which, when opened, automatically separates the two rows from one another and simultaneously completely uncovers the free ends of each row of cigarettes.

The invention also consists of a carton for cigarettes and the like of the type which comprises two pockets each arranged to accommodate a single row of cigarettes with the axes arran ed at right angles to the mouth of each poc et, and united by a flapin such a manner as 'to permit the same to be opened out into line with the open ends of the pockets directed towards one another, and to extend across the open ends of the two pockets and form the sole closure element for the same when one pocket is folded upon the other, characterized by portions of the inner broad panels of the pockets being folded upon themselves within the pockets to form openings at the open ends of the pockets which display the free ends of the cigarettes located therein.

Further, the present invention consists o a carton for cigarettes and the like, of the type which comprises two pockets each arranged to accommodate a single row of cigarettes with the axes arranged at right angles to the mouths of each pocket, and united by a flap in such a manner as to permit the same to be opened out into line with the open ends of the pockets directed towards one another and to extend across the open enxgs of the two ockets and form the sole closure lement for t e same when one pocket is folded upon the other, characterized by each pocket bein 7 so connected to the said flap that when t e carton is opened, the free ends of the cigarettes in each pocket are automatically uncovered so as to resent a free finger-hold for each cigarette om either side of the pocket.

Again, for the satisfactory packing of cigarettes it is essential that the cigarettes must be adequately wrapped and protected against atmospheric and outside influences, and for this purpose cigarettes are usually enveloped in an outer covering of tin foil which, when the packet is to be used often, forms a source of annoyance to the user, inasmuch as the same has to be either unwrapped from around the cigarettes or torn away so as to provide access to the cigarettes in the carton, and once the foil has been torn away the cigarettes are no lon er protected, and the appearance of the pac age is immediately disfigured.

Further, with the method at present employed of enveloping cigarettes in tin foil, it has been found that once a cigarette has been removed from the package, itis dilficult to replace the same without either damaging the cigarette or the foil, or both.

Where cigarettes are enveloped as a batch in an envelope of tin foil, it Is necessary to unfold the foil from around the cigarettes in order that a cigarette may be removed, whereupon, if the cigarettes are to be thereafter adequately protected, the foil must be refolded about the cigarettes, otherwise the lose their flavour. Where, however, a-batc of cigarettes have a strip of foil folded about the same so as to leave the sides free, it is necessary when removing a cigarette from a package, to lift one end of the foil from around the cigarettes, to remove the desired number of cigarettes from the package and thereafter replace the foil about the ends of the cigarettes which is very often inconvenient and. completely neglected by the average consumer of cigarettes.

Further, if it is necessary to replace a ment of the cigarette, .thus removin the rotection which has hitherto been a orde the foil. o

Again, where the clgarettes are wrapped in more than one row in an outer envelope of foil, the end of the envelope is usually opened going that all cigarette and the cigarette or cigarettes removed by ip ing t not destro ing the end of the ci arette. In all cases g oves must be remove to secure a cigarette.

Again, in cigarette containers comprising a box having a hinged lid, it is necessary to open the lid, fold back the foil from one end 0 the cigarettes, remove a cigarette by gripping t e same between two gers and thereafter replacing the foil, in which case the cigarette is sometimes damaged and the foil scarcely ever replaced in its correct p0 sition. Thus it will be seen from the forepackages in which the cigarettes are envelo ed, or wrapped in foil, dlsadvantages are in erent in the packages which either cause the cigarettes to be damaged when being removed from the package, or the foil is destroyed as the cigarettes are being removed.

It is an object of the present invention to wrap and adequately protect ci arettes in two rows in a cartonkby means 0 a stri of foil in such a manner as to permit imme iate and automatic access to the ci ettes when the carton is opened and avoi any unfoldingor tearing or fingering of the foil by the user, and yet preserve the protective appearance of the foil enveloping the cigarettes so that the cigarettes may be removed from, and re-inserted into a package without disturbin the foil wrapping which is arranged about t e same, and for this purpose there is provided a foil wrapping for a carton for cigarettes and the like of the type which comprises two pockets united by a flap in such a manner as tqpermit the same to be opened out into line with the open ends of the pockets directed towards one another and to extend across the open ends of the two pockets and form the sole closure element for the same when one pocket is folded upon the other which will completely eliminate all the disadvantages hereinbefore referred to in connection with cartons at present employed.

The invention therefore also consists of a carton comprising two block ended pockets hinged together by a flap which also constitutes the sole closure member of the carton characterized by portions of the inner broad e end of the same by means of. t e nger nails and thereby more often than r display the free ends of the cigarettes located therein, the folded -ortions also forming rotective means fort e ends of. the strip of oil arranged around the batch of cigarettes disposed within each pocket.

A further object of the invention is to pro vide means whereby the hinged flap is stiffened or reinforced so that the hinge portion of the packet shall be practicall as strong as the block ended portions of t e two separate pockets.

The invention will be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 shows a blank from which a carton constructed in accordance with this inven tion is formed.

Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of a completed carton in the open position.

Fig. 3 is a central section of Fig. 2. a

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of aclosed carton.

Fig. 5 shows a side elevation of the packet illustrating the method of stiffening the hin e, and I 6 shows another form of blank from 1 which the carton may be formed.

Referring to the drawings, the carton is preferably formed from a rectangular strip of cardboard 1 of such a len h that when the two ends 2 thereof are fol ed into ockets, the same are united by a flap 3 wh1ch will hinge the two pocketstogether in the manner hereinbefore referred to.

The free ends 2 of the-blank are slit at 4 so as to. provide portions which ma be fold-' ed'upon the main body of the bla 7 so as to extend over the ends of a strip of foil su erimYOSBd upon the blank, or in the case w ere foi is not em loyed, thematerial between the slits 4 maybe entirely removed to expose the cigarettes. I

The portions between the slits 4 when fold ed over the ends of the foil provide openings 5 in the broad face of each pocket so as to expose from one side of. the pocket the free ends of the cigarettes 6v which are disposed with their axes at right angles to the mouth of the pocket. a ,7

The carton is formed by superimposing'a strip of foil 5 in the manner hereinbefore referred to and thereafter foldin the slit portions upon the ends of the foi so as to extend over the same- Two batches of cigarettes are thereupon fed on to the blank so that the axes of the same are disposed in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the blank, and the ends of the blank are thereafter folded about eachbatchof cigarettes into a U formation so as to form a U sha d block ended pocket about each batch of cigarettes'with a strip of foilextending around the carton in the manner shown in Fig. 3.

It will be observed that when the two pockets are folded one upon "the other a covrettes and the outer walls of the closed conering of foil is disposed between the cigatainer except at two side walls thereof, whereas, when the carton is open the ends of each batch of cigarettes are freely exposed and ready of access.

The broad panels 7 of the pockets are pref erably slit at 8 and scored at 9 in order to increasethe effective width of the hinge to expose the free ends of the cigarettes and permit them to begripped from either side of the pocket, and easily withdrawn by the.

consumer. If desired, the panels 2 may have a desi 10 cut therein in order to expose the foil w ich may be embossed in any desired manner. I

The method of reinforcing the hin e member consists in securing, b means 0 um, a piece of cardboard 11, 0 the same imensions as the hinge, so that when the pockets are folded as in Fig. 5, the stiffener 11 forms a kind of strut between the .outer walls of the carton, and prevents the same from being crushed in the pocket of the user.

In some cases the portions of the ends of the blank which are turned over may be slit to form a number of spring fingers 12 which function in the manner. described in my prior British Patent No. 288,739.

Referring to Fig. 6 of the drawings, it will be seen that in this case the carton is formed from a rectan ular blank 13 having side extensions 14, which side extensions are folded over on to the main body of the blank so as to form a double pocket container of the type described. In this case the material 15 between the two side extensions 14 is folded over on to the hinged portion 16, and mmed thereto to form the stiffening for the inge, as in the previous case.

In a'packet of this character, a strip of foil may be arranged to extend beyond each end of the blank, whereupon a batch of cigarettes is fed to either end of the blank. The blank is then fed through folding mechanism which first wra s the foil in the direction of the axes of the clgarettes, but holds the ends of the foil a-predetermined distance from the cigarettes, whereafter the side extensions of the blank are folded across the blank in a direction at right angles to the cigarettes and the portion between the slots 4 is then folded around the end of the. foil, whereupon the side extensions of the blank and the foil are folded upon the cigarettes so as to produce a foil lined carton comprising two pockets united by a flap each having a single row of cigarettes with the axes thereof located at right angles to the mouths of the pockets.

It will be seen that according to the invention there is provided a carton for cigarettes arranged to accommodate two rows of cigarettes so that when the carton is opened, the respective rows are separated from one another and arranged in such a manner that the free ends of the cigarettes of each row present sufiiclent finger hold for each cigarette of the two rows to be easily removed from the carton, and when foil is employed 2 and the carton is closed, the cigarettes are almost completely enveloped in foil, but are automatically; exposed to view with a clear portion of t-eir ends available from either side of a pocket as a finger hold when the carton is opened, and the foil is arranged within each pocket so that the free ends thereof are protected, thus enabling a cigarette to be replaced in the package once the same has been removed, without the possibility of the cigarette or the foil becoming damaged by such an action.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A carton comprising two block ended pockets hinged together by a flap which also constitutes the sole closure member of the carton, characterized by portions of the inner broad panels of the pockets being folded upon themselves within the pockets to form openings at the open ends of the pockets which display the free ends of the cigarettes located therein, the folded portions also forming protective means for the ends of the strip of foil arranged around the batches of cigarettes disposed within each pocket.

2. A paper carton for cigarettes and the like which comprises two pockets each formed so as to hold a single row of cigarettes with the axes of the cigarettes disposed at right angles to the mouth of the pocket, a flap hingedly connecting the two pockets in such a manner as to permit the same to be opened out into line with the open ends of the pockets directed towards one another, and to extend across the open ends of the pockets to form the sole closure element for the same when one pocket is folded upon the other, that face of each pocket which lies adjacent the other pocket in the folded condition of the carton being slit adjacent the corners of the pocket to provide a tab, the tab being folded into and extending downwardly'within the pocket to yieldingly engage the cigarettes for retaining the latter against unintentional displacement,

and an inner liner of foil extending within each pocket around the cigarettes and under the tab, whereby the foil is retained against disposed within each pocket, the flu being prolonged by slits adjacent each of t e four corners which extend down the outer panels of the folded carton.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature.

WALTER EVERETT MOLINS. 

